To strike a significant deal for its future, the Port of Oakland made a significant break with its past.

The port agreed in March 2009 to turn over operation of some of its terminals to a private investor in exchange for $686 million over the life of a 50-year deal.

The port got a $60 million payment up front plus annual rent payments starting at $19.5 million. That compares to $18.9 million in yearly rent the port got from the berths’ previous tenants.

Several elements of the deal were novel for the port.

For example, the port’s longest concession deals in the past tended to be 20 years. In another change with past practices, the port negotiated with several parties at once before reaching an accord with Ports America, a New Jersey-based company owned by infrastructure-focused private equity firm Highstar Capital.

The deal provides immediate benefits to the Port of Oakland. At a time of declining cargo volumes, the Ports America agreement gives the facility badly needed money and shifts some of the responsibility traditionally born by the port — such as selling bonds to renovate infrastructure — to Ports America.

“We share the risk and the reward” with Ports America, said Omar Benjamin, the port’s director. “That is what this is about.”

For Ports America, the country’s largest operator of port terminals and stevedore services, the deal is expected to pay dividends further down the road. Ports America is betting that demand at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, collectively the largest in the U.S., will eventually exceed capacity. That, in turn, will make Oakland an even more attractive facility for imports.

Oakland’s port “offers the perfect combination of local and Northern California business as well as opportunities to build an intermodal gateway to the rest of the country,” said Peter Stone, the chief commercial officer at Ports America.

The port’s traditional model looked like this: The port would sell millions of dollars in bonds for infrastructure upgrades on its site and then lease out space at berths to maritime operators, who would pay rent to the port.

But that staid model was cracking under the stress of the economy. The port sought to lessen its debt obligations, but still keep pace with rival ports along the West Coast and elsewhere. That’s when the port began soliciting private investors, asking who was interested in a long-term deal.

The port narrowed its consideration to five potential investors and port officials negotiated with them all at once. That sped up discussions, allowing the port to strike a deal in 10 months versus what could have taken more than a year, said Jean Banker, the project manager on the deal.

Benjamin said he is encouraged that the port was able to strike such a significant deal amid a struggling economy.

“I’m excited that we’ve come together now, when things are difficult,” Benjamin said. “It’s an affirmation of the value and the role of the Port of Oakland as part of the movement of goods within the United States.”